


The Paul to her Holly

by literatiruinedme



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, F/M, Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29925363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literatiruinedme/pseuds/literatiruinedme
Summary: He came for the burgers and world-class service but stayed for her.for the Jeroncia week promptreverse au
Relationships: Jughead Jones/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	The Paul to her Holly

**Author's Note:**

> and the [mood board](https://imgur.com/X8x0Y4a)
> 
> this is my first time writing for Jeronica, I hope you enjoy <3

What he hadn't expected on his second trip to Pop's diner in as many days -the burgers were _that_ delicious after all- was the girl that he had spent all of his lunch period at his first day of Riverdale High pretending he wasn't staring at while he sat with Betty and Archie, the overachieving athlete and the boy next door. She sat in a back corner of the restaurant, her luscious dark hair juxtaposed against a thin golden headband in the shape of a crown that sat just above her hairline, the ends of the golden band braided in as she worked away at something on her computer. Passively, as he pocketed his car keys, he wondered if the headband went all the way around her head or if it was just a delicate-looking headband she had strategically styled; he had seen weirder back in the city, for sure.

“It's rude to stare,” she finally murmured from her seat a few feet away, not looking up from her computer screen as she aggressively slapped at the keys on the base. 

“Forgive me.” He wandered over to plop down on the other side of the booth, neglecting to ask permission before making himself comfortable. “I couldn't help it.”

Her eyes never left the screen as she hummed curtly in acknowledgement. “How was it?”

He raised a brow. “Pardon?”

“Your first day at a new school.” She glanced over his shoulder before raising her coffee mug, the soft curve on her lips making his heart race for no reason at all. “How was it?” She set her mug down a moment later, still avoiding his gaze. “I heard you got the grand tour from dear old Elizabeth.”

He smiled, looking over his shoulder as a waitress stopped by, refilling the girl's coffee.

“Thank you,” she breathed, smiling up at the waitress before taking a sip. When he didn't speak again, she met his gaze. 

As cheesy as it was, her dark brown eyes meeting his own made him stop breathing for a moment before he remembered himself. He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like he was under a microscope as she looked him over; he felt trapped under her gaze in a way that normally would have meant hiding behind himself, but he felt known, _seen_ , in a different way than ever before. After straightening in his seat, he nodded. “She's nice. The school is...quaint, but it'll do. As long as I get into an Ivy League, I really don't care much for where my education happens.”

“Betty's a good study partner. If I remember correctly, Yale and Harvard were always her dream schools.” After another sip of her coffee, she continued. “She's a regular Rory Gilmore.”

He hummed, looking down at the various stickers on her laptop before meeting the unnamed girl's gaze again. “And who are you?” He could take his guesses based on the various stickers of animated food, serpents, and caricatures of books in a plethora of styles covering the smooth and sleek gray case covering her laptop or the newspaper clipping of a short article headline taped down alongside her stickers, but he was hanging on her every word and he had to get her to say something, _anything_ more. 

She grinned, slowly closing her laptop before setting it off to the side. “ _I_ am indefinable.”

His lips quirked up in a smirk as he took her in; her well-worn flannel and her soft-looking cotton t-shirt contrasting with her perfect eyeliner and the strategic mess of hair on her head, all hard edges and soft curve. “Well,” he breathed. “Ms indefinable-”

She mirrored his smirk, even as she nervously ran her finger along the edge of the table.

“Do you have a name?”

“Forsythe?” the waitress at the counter called, her timing almost comedic.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a breath before he raised his hand to accept the order. “Of course FP had to put it under that.”

The waitress walked the bag over, wishing him a good evening before disappearing once more. 

He glanced back at the girl as he quickly reached into his to-go bag, pulling free one of the handful of burgers he was tasked in bringing back to the penthouse that he, his father, and his sister were now calling home after having relocated following his mother's arrest. After tearing back the paper, he took a large bite, moaning at the taste that he had been craving since visiting Pop's diner for the first time the night before, when he met Betty and Archie in the middle of hanging out (during his tour with her that morning, he had discovered it had been a rather uncomfortable brush-off of what Archie thought was a date). A blush rose over his cheeks as he chewed, remembering he was in the middle of flirting with the raven-haired goddess across from him as he ate like a pig. 

“I'm guessing you're a Pop's guy,” she said, offering him a lifeline as he tried to ground himself once more.

“Absolutely. I didn't think my father was being serious when he said they were the best he'd ever had, but I don't think I can ever leave this town.”

Something warm passed over her face, disappearing just as quickly after she glanced at her coffee cup for a beat. “That's good to hear.” Her lips tipped up in a soft smile. “Things just got interesting here.”

He grinned.

“It's Veronica, by the way,” she said, reaching into his bag for a French fry.

He hummed to himself. “ _Veronica_ ,” he breathed, smiling at the feeling of her name on his tongue. “A beautiful name.”

She hummed, looking him up and down from her position on the other end of the booth. “It's no _Forsythe_ , but-”

He laughed, shaking his head almost frantically. “Please,” he begged. “Call me Jughead.”

Her amusement only grew as her brows shot up. “ _Jughead_?” 

He nodded. “Definitely not incredible, but _Forsythe_ sounds like the guy who does your taxes.”

“And _Jughead_ does what exactly?” she asked, crossing her arms in front of her as she leaned across the table.

He smiled, reaching into the to-go bag. “Wouldn't you like to know?” he asked before biting into a crispy French fry.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on [tumblr](http://matchingsweatervests.tumblr.com/) or at [my main/bughead tumblr](http://literatiruinedme.tumblr.com/)!


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